YAHUSHUA’s BIRTHDAY!
THE TRUTH ABOUT YOM TERUAH, SEPTEMBER 11, 03 BCE
The material I present here is so exciting I could hardly sleep the night I first read about it. It confirms so much to us! In writing this article, I kept getting chills as I copied quotes from Dr. Michael Heiser and Ernest L. Martin. The only way to get all the information on the timing of Yahuwah’s birth and the resting of the “star” over Bethlehem 15½ months later when the Magi (wise men) arrived, is to buy Ernest Martin’s book The Star That Astonished the World. Here I give you enough to keep you awake, at least in spirit. “Mind-boggling,” “numbing,” “shocking,” “astonishing,” “fantastic,” and “anointed,” are just a few words to describe this information. Surely, from Kislev 24, as in Haggai 2:19, we have been blessed!
I begin with my own revelation on Yahushua’s day of conception: Haggai 2:18-19 - Kislev 24, the first day of Hanukkah 4 BCE. I am not alone in this understanding! The facts are just there!
Haggai 2:18-22a: “`Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the Hekel of Yahuwah was laid, consider it: Is the seed yet in the storehouse? And until now the vine and the fig tree and the pomegranate and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. From this day on, I will bless you!’ And a second time the Word of Yahuwah came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month saying `Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, saying I am shaking the heavens and the earth, and I shall overturn the throne of kingdoms. And I shall destroy the might of gentile reigns, and overturn the chariots and their riders…’ ”
This sounds like proclamation of the first and second coming of Yahushua Messiah (whose Name means “Yahuwah is salvation”)
We see that first this passage in Haggai speaks of “a seed” in “a storehouse.” Then it refers to a future time that aligns to Elul and Tishre, when grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates are harvested. But, he begins by pinpointing a time of conception--the time when a “seed” (singular) will be in the “storehouse,” i.e. a storehouse/womb, later to be brought forth in the time of the harvesting of the fruit. He is giving us a big clue to the time from when the blessings will begin to flow for His people, at the conception of the eternal Yahushua. And amazingly this happens at the beginning of Hanukkah, a festival which celebrates the day when things would be restored to their proper order in the Temple of Yahuwah after the enemy did his best to destroy it. Then the text switches to the time we’re in now, a time of great shaking. Revelation 6, 8 and 16 mirrors this time. Then it speaks of the time when gentile reigns will be overthrown when Yahushua Messiah returns.
Ya’cob 5:7-8 zeros in on the second coming: “So, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Master. See, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and the latter rain. You too be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Master has drawn near.”
In Israel, the former rains begin around October/November; the latter rains are in March or April for the barley harvest, and in May/June the wheat harvest. “The precious fruit of the earth,” is referring to the five species of fruit, a picture of the resurrection of the justified/saved (“the first resurrection) as Messiah descends on a Yom Teruah, or possibly Yom Kippur – both are called “Yom ha Din,” Day of Judgment. Most likely it is Yom Teruah for that is the day of the blowing of shofars/trumpets, shouting, and rejoicing over the creation of the world, which was spoken by Yahushua! It is also a day when Kings were coronated.
Matthew 24:29-31: “And immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And THEN the sign of the Son of Adam shall appear in the heaven and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Adam coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great esteem. And He shall send His messengers with a great sound of a trumpet/shofar, and they shall gather together His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
This is the “first resurrection” of the righteous set-apart ones who have died in faith from righteous Abel on. (Revelation 20:4-6) He comes at the season of the Fall Festivals – September or October/Tishre.
There is a time of planting. There is a time of harvesting. Haggai prophesies of both times of blessings: Messiah was conceived at a time of celebration when the enemies of Israel were defeated, and born at a time of harvest. He returns at the time of harvest: “The Kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Master and of His Messiah, and He shall reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)
I Thessalonians 5:1, Sha’ul writes: “Now brothers, as to the times and the seasons, you do not need to be written to.” They understood Leviticus 23!
OK, we know the season, the Fall Festivals, but does He tell us the general millennium and/or year-timing of His coming? Yes! That timing is spelled out exactly in several places in the Tenach to do with the “third day,” and also referenced in II Peter 3:8. Kepha makes it clear that if we are to know one thing to do with His second coming--that to Elohim a “thousand years is as one day.” That relates to the speed of light. We’ve passed from the 6,000 years of man into the 7th millennium on Yom Teruah September 29, 2000/2001. During the first of the 7th millennium that begins the “third day” since Messiah ascended, He will come and establish His Kingdom on earth. We’re in that time-period.
Hosea 6:1-3: “Come let us turn back to Yahuwah, for He has torn but He will heal us. He has stricken but He binds us up. After 2 days (2,000 years) He shall revive us. On the third day (beginning the 7th millennium) He will raise us up so that we live in His sight.”
This principle is pictured in Numbers 19:10-22 and Numbers 31:19-24. You must be cleansed by the third day or else you will not be ready on the seventh day. You cannot enter the camp of Yahuwah if you are not cleansed on the third and the seventh day. We’re in “the third day,” and the “seventh day.”
A beautiful picture of Messiah’s coming wedding on the “third day” is in John 2. John 2:1: “And on the third day there was a wedding at Cana of Galilee…” For some really beautiful insight into this event, refer to: “John 2:1-11 – The Wedding at Kafar Cana”--a lesson in timing for the wedding of Messiah Yahushua. [Use the search option on the website main page: comeenterthemikvah.com]
There were 4,000 years since 4004 BCE at the creation of Adam until the birth of Messiah in 03 BCE/going into 2 BCE at Yom Teruah. September 11, 03 BCE to September 11, 1997/98 CE is 2,000 years since the birth of Messiah. [Refer to the article: “The Third Day” under the Mikvah of Preparation]
I’ve known for many years that Yahushua’s birthday was September 11, 03 BCE, a Yom Teruah, confirmed by many Biblical scholars based on solid facts and astute scientific Astronomy. But, I had not heard or read the details given in such a succinct manner until I heard it from Dr. Michael Heiser in a Sky Watch TV interview in 2016. How wonderful that he wrote it all out in his 2017 book Reversing Hermon – Enoch, The Watchers, and the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ. Many of his quotes come from Ernest L. Martin’s book The Star That Astonished the World. I will quote from both books.
Here is scientific evidence of Messiah’s birth on Yom Teruah, September 11, 03 BCE. At His birth, the Revelation 12:1-5-alignment was in the second heaven, in the constellation Virgo the Virgin or Betula (Hebrew). The positions of the sun and moon put Messiah’s birth within an hour and a half time-period on only one day a year--September 11, in the year 03 BCE. The Magi, who were looking for the King of the Jews, the Messiah, at that time, would have known clearly the message in the heavens. In the summer of 2 BCE, June 17th they began their journey to Bethlehem following THE “star” which grew to full brightness by August 12th.
Messiah’s ministry spanned one year--specifically 490 days--from His baptism until He sent the Spirit of Yahuwah upon His disciples in Acts 2. He was nailed to the stake on a Wednesday, Passover week 28 CE. Ernest Martin also brings this out. He “stopped the sacrifices in the middle of the week.” (Daniel 9) He rose from the dead just after sunset on Saturday night, beginning the first day of the week.
The addition of two extra Passovers in John 5:1 and 6:4 by those trying to prove papal authority over the world is well documented. The spurious reasoning they gave was: Yesu’s ministry was 3½ years, and then it was another 3½ years from His ascension to Cornelius’ conversion, which began the time of gentiles. That would equal the 7 years of tribulation--making the pope, as the Vicar of Christ, the ruling king of kings to rule the world. Of course to them Peter was the first pope. No, there was no pope, only Bishops, until Constantine in the 4th century made himself the PontifexMaximus – the supreme pontiff/pope of his own church.
Below I quote from Dr. Michael Heiser on Messiah’s birth and the timing of the coming of the Magi from Parthia (an Israelite colony). Parthia had been ruled over by the House of David through the lineage of David’s son Nathan--the lineage of Miriam (i.e. Luke 3:23-38, note verse 31). The Jewish Talmud has this nailed down, speaking ill of Miriam’s father Eli, speaking ill of Miriam, and making her son Yahushua out to an illegitimate blasphemer, in cahoots with Satan.
Ezekiel was sent to the House of Israel, to Parthia, just north of Babylon. (Ezekiel 2 and 3) In the days prior to Yahushua’s birth, the Parthians were running out of kings. It is believed by many Bible scholars that Daniel gave them, in today’s dollar value, upwards of half billion dollars in gold, precious gems, and pure essential oils, to give to the Messiah when He came.
The long entourage to Jerusalem was not done by three wise men on three camels. That surely would not have scared King Herod. Actually, there were many Magi, and an entourage estimated at a few thousand soldiers. Rome had been in a cold war with Parthia, and Rome feared Parthia, so Herod was terrified.
The Magi would have noted the message in the stars in what we now have written in Revelation 12:1-5. Then, on June 17th, 02 BCE, the Magi would have seen the convergence of two brilliant planets that looked like stars (Jupiter and Venus). It was at this time they began their journey. The messages over the land of Israel pointed to the fact that a King had been born. It was a time when Jews were looking for Messiah. The Parthian Magi, and perhaps some from Babylon too, followed the planet Jupiter, known as the “King’s Planet,” which kept going into retrograde for months, aligning with the “King’s Star,” Regulus, in the paw of the constellation Leo, signaling the birth of a King. As they neared Jerusalem, they saw Jupiter enter the womb area of the Virgin/Virgo/Betula, announcing the birth of a King. Because of the rotation of earth, Jupiter appeared to stop over the house for about six days. As we’ll see from Ernest Martin’s book, the movement of sun, moon, planets, and stars, let the Magi know that this man-child was a King.
Their arrival at Hanukkah to present gifts to the little King would not have been strange to Jews, for Hanukkah was their traditional time to give gifts in honor of the re-dedication of the Temple. It is most note-worthy that in John 10:22 we read that it was Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, and it was winter, and that during this time Yahushua declared His Deity—i.e. John 10:30-33.
Parthia was ruled by the lineage of Nathan, son of David. The intent of the Magi was to take the baby back to Parthia and raise him as a future King. Herod panicked. He thought the cold war between Parthia and Rome was over. By the time the Magi arrived in Bethlehem, the child, Yahushua, was a 15½ month-old toddler, walking and talking, and the family was living in a house.
The word for the “child” in Greek (Matthew 2:11) is “paidion”, “a toddler.” Martin says that in the papyrus codex Bodmer V of the Protoevangelium of James written in Egypt in the fourth century CE, it even states that the Magi were able to see Yahushua “standing by the side of His mother Miriam.”
The visit of the Magi would have arrived to present their gifts during Hanukkah, near the end of Kislev, our December. As soon as the Magi left, Herod went on his rampage (Matthew 2:16). If Yosef had not obeyed the dream-warning Yahuwah gave him to take the child to Egypt, Herod’s killing of baby’s age two and under would have resulted in His death.
Yahushua was born at the “tower of the flock” outside Bethlehem near Ephrat. Ephrat was where Rachael died giving birth to Benjamin. It and Bethlehem were sister-cities.
Micah 5:2: “But, you, Bethlehem-Ephrat, you who are little among the clans of Judah, out of you shall come forth to Me the One to become Ruler in Israel. And His comings forth are of old, from everlasting. Therefore He shall give them up, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth, and the remnant of His brothers shall return to the children of Israel. And He shall stand and shepherd in the strength of Yahuwah, in the excellence of the Name of Yahuwah His Elohim. And they shall dwell, for at that time, He shall be great, to the ends of the earth.”
Micah 4:8: “And you, O tower of the flock, stronghold of the daughter of Zion, it shall come to you, the former rule shall come, the reign of the daughter of Jerusalem.”
The shepherds were Levites--priests. According to Luke 2:9, the shepherds were living out on the hill side with their sheep. They were not freezing with their sheep in the winter. I know that occasionally weather in December in various parts of Israel can be decent, but from my own experiences, Jerusalem can get bitter-cold in December, sometimes with icy rain and snow. I’ve been in Jerusalem on December 25th and walked from East Jerusalem to the Great Synagogue, then clear back to the City of David, being a “tour-guide” for a friend. Kislev, the Hebrew 9th month, is usually in our December.
In Luke’s account the shepherds were approached by a messenger from Yahuwah who gave them a message of the birth of Messiah. Then a heavenly choir sang praises to Yahuwah. If the shepherds were cold, they wouldn’t be living out there with the sheep for one thing, but neither would they be all that enthusiastic to listen to a sermon by a strange messenger, and then have to listen to a choir sing!
Ezra 10:9: “Then all the men of Judah and Benyamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month (Kislev) on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sat in the open space of the house of Elohim trembling because of the matter at hand and because of the showers of rain.”…Ezra 10:13: “But the people are many, and it is the season of showers of rain, and we are not able to stand outside.”
Jeremiah 36:22: “And the King was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month (Kislev), and a fire burning on the hearth before him.”
In Luke 2:9-13, the warm and happy shepherds were told: “Do not be afraid, for look, I bring you good news of great joy which shall be to all people. There was born to you this day in the city of David (“Bet Lechem” – “the house of bread,” the birthplace of King David) a Savior, who is Messiah, the Master. And this shall be a sign to you: You shall find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a feeding trough” (KJV: “manger”)
How did they know where to go from those vague instructions? The instructions came after a heavenly choir performed for the shepherds. In Luke 2:15-16 it appears they knew just where to go--to the tower of the flock. The Lamb of Elohim had been born, the Savior, of the House of David.
The “tower of the flock” was where the lambs were kept for special sacrifice in the Temple. It was overseen by Levites. The shepherds were Levites. The perfect lambs would be ceremonially taken from “the tower of the flock” to the High Priest on the Temple Mount on special days like Passover and Yom Kippur for the sacrifice for the nation – the final sacrifice of the day. Because Yosef and Miriam both in the direct kingly line from King David, their baby was allowed to be born there, and was placed in one of the stone cribs used for feeding the sheep. He was wrapped in “swaddling clothes”--undergarments worn by the priests.